


Pacific

by futureimperfect, Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)



Series: Circumstance [14]
Category: Law and Order: SVU, Original Work
Genre: F/F, Femslash, Flashback, Happy Ending, Original Femslash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-02
Updated: 2010-05-02
Packaged: 2017-10-09 06:40:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/84153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect, https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lara returns to New York a year after her night with Donna at the club, and she finds that clarity isn't as as difficult to hold onto as she might have thought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Landing

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Continuity](https://archiveofourown.org/works/65124) by [futureimperfect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect), [Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo). 
  * Inspired by [Dark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/78512) by [futureimperfect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect), [Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo). 
  * Inspired by [Haunted](https://archiveofourown.org/works/58863) by [futureimperfect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect), [Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo). 
  * Inspired by [Probability](https://archiveofourown.org/works/58872) by [futureimperfect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect), [Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo). 
  * Inspired by [Flight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/66350) by [futureimperfect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect), [Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo). 



> All characters were created by and belong to the authors. Please do not use without permission.
> 
> We would like to note that this fic, as it progresses, is in no way meant to represent an entirely realistic representation of the BDSM Scene. This is a fictionalized, somewhat Romanticized account, in which many of the intricate details are left between the lines. However, despite the poetic license, we hope the portrayal is thoughtful and enjoyable.

Lara looked out the window of her hotel room. It was the same address as the last time she'd been in the city, but this time it was a standard room. Not as lavish as the penthouse of course, but now she couldn't imagine just why she would need the extra space. This was close enough. Close enough to count as a return, but without the pointless excess she used to so covet. She pushed a dark curl back over her shoulder and glanced at her phone again, turning the card over in her fingers a few more times before dialing. Lara didn't have the slightest idea what she was planning on saying, perhaps because there was too much that needed to be said.

Donna didn't recognize the number as she picked up the phone. She didn't often give out her cell phone number so she was a bit perplexed at who might be calling her. "Hello?"

Lara let a pause hang in the air as she took a breath. The number was definitely correct, that calm voice was imprinted in her memory. "Hello, I'm sorry to bother you. It's just.." Lara fumbled with the English uncharacteristically, "It's Lara...from...well, God, it's been a year and ...I'm back in New York." She took a steadying breath, "And you said yourself life is too short." She hoped some point had been gotten across.

It took Donna a moment to remember just who Lara was and why she might have her number, but once she did, she smiled slightly. "Yes, I did. And it's no bother. What can I do for you?" She consciously softened her voice, not wanting Lara to think any brusqueness might be annoyance.

Lara was at a loss, she had no idea why she was calling, or what she might want. Still, something was compelling, like the closing of a circle. "I'm not sure, so much has happened." She stood and stepped toward the window, "and I think I owe much of it to you."

"Oh, well." Donna returned to the chair where she had been sitting before her phone had started ringing. "That's incredibly flattering." It was a rare instance when she didn't know what to say, but she was almost completely at a loss for words. After Lara had left the club, she hadn't really expected to hear from her again. "It's good to know that you're doing all right."

She looked over the skyline, "I don't mean to presume, but could I buy you dinner while I'm in town?" She wanted to connect that voice with a face again, to test reality now that she had perspective.

"Sure." Donna didn't know why she agreed so readily, but she wasn't upset at having done so. "I'd like that." It would be good to see if Lara really had gotten over Myra and the guilt that she had been carrying around the last time they had met. "I don't have any plans tomorrow night."

A smile grew on Lara's features, though it no longer seemed so foreign, "Tomorrow then. You can choose the place." The location didn't matter to her, Lara was there for the company, "I can meet you anywhere."

"Are you at a hotel? Why don't I come pick you up?" It seemed like the easiest solution as she wasn't sure yet where she might take the other woman.

"The Gramercy Park," Lara had a few errands to run for a client, but they would be finished in good time. "Eight?"

"I'll see you then." Donna's smile had grown as the conversation continued. "Have a good evening."

******

The following evening found Lara riding down in the hotel elevator, smoothing her dress as she looked at her reflection in the mirrored walls. She might be overdressed, but she had few options, and the dress had been a particularly generous gift from a client in Beijing a few weeks earlier. Somehow the delicately patterned fabric and high collar didn't seem contrived when acquired from the true source of the tradition. Her hair was only lightly pulled back, and curls trailed along her shoulders. At five after eight, she stepped out of the elevator, not quite sure what she should be looking for.

Donna saw Lara from her seat in the hotel's lobby, and she stood to go meet her. She hadn't realized just how tall Lara was the first time they had met. But that didn't stop her from smiling in greeting. "Lara." Taking in her dress, she was glad that she had decided against barbeque.

Lara turned at the sound of her name and smiled, "Donna." There was a moment where she considered offering her hand in greeting, but it didn't seem right. She glanced at the carpet before looking back at the woman in front of her and pulling her into a brief but warm embrace. Still smiling, Lara stood back, "It's good to see you again. I'm glad you had the time."

"If I hadn't, I would have made the time. You look wonderful." Which was certainly true. Lara no longer looked as if she might shatter at any moment. "My car is right outside. Shall we?"

Lara walked with Donna as they left the hotel, and slid into the car. "Thank you, and likewise. I don't know why I came back to the city really, it just didn't seem right to go back to Paris yet." And perhaps this was what was missing, "you've been well?" The older woman certainly looked it, strong and confident, yet still compassionate as Lara had remembered when she left.

"Yes, very." Donna put the car in gear and headed toward the restaurant. It was a short drive, but it would have been a long walk. "What have you been doing for the past year?"

Lara crossed her legs and looked at the roof of the car, collecting her thoughts, "I've been doing...everything and nothing I suppose you could say." It was definitely a question that begged a long answer. There had been days walking the Great Wall, and nights on beaches in remote islands, and more sights and people than she would ever remember. Still, she tried to condense, "I think I've been getting ready to live again."

Donna nodded as she pulled up to the valet stand. "That sounds like a worthwhile pursuit, and it certainly seems as if you've benefited from it." The conversation paused as Donna took the ticket from the valet, and they were shown to a table. Lara took a sip from the glass after her water was poured, "I did, and I wanted to thank you again." The more Lara let herself think back to a year prior, the more she was thankful.

"It isn't necessary." Donna waved her off and relaxed back into her chair. It only took her a moment to look over the menu and decide what she wanted. She put it down and focused on the wine list.

A comfortable silence fell while they both considered options. The swordfish caught Lara's eye, and she closed hers after only a precursory glance. She didn't ask to see the wine, content to let someone else make a choice; she'd already trusted Donna with far more. The waiter returned a moment later, and Donna ordered the wine before turning her attention back to Lara. "So, I never really asked last time, what is that you do?"

It was such a simple question it almost caught Lara off-guard, "Oh, I buy art. I have clients who are always looking for something their friends haven't found yet." She smiled. "And yourself?" The evening was such a strange mix, essentially meeting a stranger who knew your deepest secrets, but nothing else.

"I'm a lawyer with the US Attorney's office." Donna sipped her wine as the waiter presented it, then nodded her approval. The conversation had to pause again while they ordered, but Donna picked it up again. "Is that what brings you to New York?"

Well that made sense. Lara had wondered from time to time about Donna, and always thought of her as wielding some power in all aspects of life. "Yes, in part." Lara took a piece of bread from the basket that the waiter had placed on the table and toyed with it, pulling off a small piece, "I can usually set my own itinerary, but when the chance to come back to New York came up, something made me choose it."

Donna smiled. "I'm glad you looked me up. And that sounds like a rather nice lifestyle." She had traveled some on vacations, but she had never really had the time to do the exploring that she wished she could. "Sometimes, I wish I could just go off and immerse myself in another culture, another country."

Lara sat back, taking her wine glass with her, "I suppose I could say the same. I'm never in any one place too long." And until recent memory, immersion in anything would have felt stifling. She raised her glass to her lips before speaking again. "I went to Bordeaux last month." She doubted if the comment would mean anything to her companion, but she was ready to explain it. It had felt so strange to realize she'd never seen Myra's hometown until far too late.

"Oh?" Donna raised her eyebrows and waited for Lara to explain. They weren't drinking a bordeaux, so she wasn't sure of the significance.

"It was a long overdue visit; it was time to say goodbye to her." Lara raised her glass again and glanced at the ceiling quietly before sitting it down. It wasn't sadness that crossed her elegant features at the close of the statement but a satisfied light, a relief.

"Ah." Donna didn't need to hear a name to know who Lara was talking about. "Well, I'm glad you were able to do that." It had certainly taken her far too long to do the same thing. But Justin wasn't something that she wanted to get into that night.

"Me too. It made me realize how long ago it was." The waiter brought their meal and Lara picked up her fork, "but enough about the past, I'm enjoying the present." And if they felt the need, she was sure it could be revisited. "So, if you could get away, where would you go?" It was a simple topic, one Lara knew well, and something most of the lawyers she had met would immediately have an answer to. She found the answer told her quite a bit about a person.

"Everywhere." It was Donna's first thought. "Anywhere. I'd even take a trip to Mars if someone offered." She chuckled at the absurdity. "The further away, the better."

"You're not from New York are you?" Lara's eyes peered across the table at the older woman, "that's an answer from someone who moves out of logic, not passion."

"I was born in the Midwest, but I spent most of my life in LA,, then DC." Donna pursed her lips in amusement as their food arrived. "Where are you from, originally?"

"Paris. I've always loved city life. I can't say I've really imagined living any other way." It was more than the ease and excitement of the life, a lack of noise and light still made her nervous. She wasn't going to let Donna out of her earlier answer so easily, "But if you're going everywhere, where might be your first stop?" She chewed a bite of the white fish before concluding, "And start with someplace on Earth maybe."

"Cairo, then Istanbul, and Budapest, then back across Europe by train." It was a trip that she had been planning for years, the vacation that she never had time for. "And after I made it to London, I'd go back to LA. It's still home." And it really was ridiculous how many months out of the year her house there stood empty except for whmoever the cleaning service sent.

Lara smiled. It wasn't so much that the trip was obviously planned, but the conclusion of the speech that made her feel...something she couldn't place. She knew very few people who knew where 'home' was anymore. "You should do it, all of it." Lara didn't need to remind Donna of her own advice the last time they'd parted company. "I'd like to go to LA." It was strange that she'd never been, but her last chance to go she had been diverted to Chicago.

"I keep saying that I'm going to do it when I retire. I wish I had that much vacation time." Donna looked wistful. "And I can't believe you've never been to LA."

"Me either." Lara finished her wine and twisted the empty glass in her fingers, "How much vacation time do you have?" It wasn't something she'd had to consider in quite some time.

"I get four weeks, but I can't take it all at once. I'm lucky if I can get away for a whole week." Donna's mouth quirked up. "There are too many other schedules to juggle."

Lara raised an eyebrow, "Anyone's in particular?" It was a question that needed to be answered for her to have any idea where things might lead, plenty could happen in a year.

Donna chuckled. "Just the court's, which is normally complicated enough. And I can't go anywhere when my boss might be out of town, just in case something starts to burn down." And as often as he had to fly to DC, that didn't leave much room in her schedule.

"Yes, you definitely need to get away I think." Lara looked questioningly at the older woman when the waiter asked if they'd like the dessert list. She didn't usually order anything, preferring an evening drink to sweets.

Donna simply asked for the check then waved the waiter away. "You're probably right, but it's going to have to wait a few years. Do you ever get tired of traveling?" She liked the idea of going out and exploring, but knowing that she had a home to return to was comforting.

"Every time I get delayed at Heathrow." She laughed lightly, "And at times I think about going back and living in Paris again, but I'm not sure I'd know how."

Donna chuckled and let Lara get the check when the waiter put it down. "Still, I imagine that Paris would be a fairly easy city to go back to. I've always enjoyed my visits. I know you said no to dessert, but could I interest you in an after dinner drink?"

"Always." Lara signed the check and stood, "I happen to know the bar at my hotel has quite pleasing ambiance for a late drink," it she was being direct, Lara wasn't in a mood to care, "at least it did last time I was here."

"Actually," Donna said as she found the valet slip, "I was thinking we might go back to my house. I can't promise the ambiance, but I can promise you a good drink." She smiled and raised her eyebrows as she waited for an answer.

Lara felt her color rise at the suggestion. She hadn't let herself plan too much for the night, not knowing at all what to expect, but what she did know was that she didn't want to go back to her hotel alone just yet. Things with Donna were surprisingly comfortable, easy, yet not without intrigue. "Yes...yes I'd like that." She hoped she hadn't answered too quickly.

"Wonderful." Donna led Lara out of the restaurant and into her waiting car. The drive didn't take long, and they spent it mostly silent. Donna didn't want to speculate about how the night might end. There were far too many possibilities and she didn't want to get her hopes up.

When the car stopped, Lara looked around. Donna's street was quieter than Lara was used to in New York, despite the short distance from the hype of the city. She waited for the older woman to unlock the door, and followed her quietly inside. Somehow it didn't feel wrong, or too fast, and she didn't care to over think.

Donna led them into the living room and motioned toward the couch. She was already slipping her shoes off. "Make yourself at home. What can I get you to drink?"

Lara had any number of drinks she might make for herself, but tonight it wasn't what was in the glass that mattered, more the fact of the thing itself. "Whatever you're in the mood for." She was intrigued to see what Donna might make for herself. The townhouse was comfortable, but spoke of someone new to the city for sure. Lara sat and crossed her legs, looking out the window at the lights glowing through tree branches outside.

Donna poured them each a glass of cognac from a decanter and handed on to Lara as she came back over. "Here you are." It was simple and she didn't have to worry about it getting warm if things turned in a favorable direction. She searched for an opening line to start the conversation again, but she couldn't think of anything, so she just sat.

Lara took a sip and smiled. There was something completely endearing about this Donna, and she could hardly reconcile her with the one who had so adeptly broken her down when she needed it most. Lara's dark eyes looked at the other woman, considering, and she leaned close and kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

Donna started slightly when she felt Lara's lips on her cheek. "I told you, it isn't necessary, but you're welcome."

Lara laughed lightly, "It's only polite. Its obviously good cognac." She took another sip and moved a little closer, "And the company isn't bad either."

"I could say the same." She sipped her drink and settled. "It nice to hear you laugh. It's certainly nicer than what you were doing when last we met."

"Yes, I didn't do much laughing then. Well, not for the right reasons anyway." She twisted the glass in her fingers, "from what I've learned since, I'm probably lucky you stepped in when you did. I can't quite believe how close to real trouble I was." Lara mentally cringed when she thought of just how upset she must have made a woman like Therese to get her to react like that.

"Therese wasn't very happy that you tried to hurt her niece, no." And if Lara was referring to trouble besides Therese, then Donna didn't want to think about it. "But I think, given enough time, she might get over it."

Lara covered her face with a hand for a moment. She hadn't known the full extent of her transgression, "God..." She didn't feel like continuing, she'd buried enough of the past for one night. She turned from her drink and caught Donna's lips with hers for a moment, pulling back then, but still lingering close, "I...I'm glad I found you again." She hoped she hadn't gone too far.

Donna chuckled lightly. Though she had been surprised by the kiss, it wasn't unwelcome and she reached up to cup the back of Lara's head, pushing her fingers into her hair. "I'm glad you called." She leaned in for a second, longer kiss.

Lara just smiled and quietly took both of their glasses, placing them on the sidetable before she turned her attention back to Donna. She knew she was blushing lightly, and the other woman's color was increasing as well. She was still slightly unsure about the night's progression. Lara hadn't really considered if Donna would expect her to kneel, or if it was even something the older woman still practiced, but she just proceeded to kiss the brunette again, slowly this time.

Sliding closer to Lara on the couch, Donna leaned into the kiss. As far as she could remember, they hadn't gotten even this far during their last encounter, and it was a welcome change. "Mmm..." There wasn't instantaneous heat, but her desire was slowly building and she was starting to hope that Lara didn't plan on going back to her hotel until the morning. She was trying not to over think things, but she hoped that Lara wasn't expecting to have to spend the night on her knees.

They were pulling each other closer, and Lara's hands were starting to quietly work under Donna's shirt when she paused, voice heavy, "I should go now, unless you're inviting me to stay the night." She wasn't twenty anymore, and was past being ashamed to say such things.

"Then consider yourself invited." Donna pulled her down for another kiss, not worrying about whether Lara would take her up on that invitation. Lara just smiled. She kissed the other woman and then stood gracefully, offering a slender hand to the brunette. She hoped from her expression her intentions would be clear.

Donna took Lara's hand and stood. "My bedroom is just upstairs." Had she been asked, the night the met, she never would have believed that this would happen, that Lara would be so much less damaged. But she was glad that it had happened. Lara kissed Donna's cheek and nodded. She knew what she wanted, and it was out of both desire and almost blissful clarity that she smiled as she walked up the stairs, feeling the other woman's eyes pleasantly on her as she went.

When they reached the bedroom, Donna held the door for Lara. "Are you sure you don't want a second date?" She smiled and shut the door behind herself, leaning against it for a moment. She could picture Lara kneeling, naked, in the center of her bedroom, and while it was a delicious image, it wasn't something that she wanted that night.

"I do. But it doesn't mean I want to go home tonight." Lara was still smiling, and kissed Donna lightly before turning around and holding up her hair so the brunette could help her out of her dress.

Donna reached for the zipper and pulled it down, kissing the skin that she was slowly reveling. "Good. I don't want you to go home tonight." She pushed her hands under the sides of Lara's dress, forcing it off of her shoulders.

Lara closed her eyes and exhaled, leaning lightly into Donna's touch, enjoying the brunette's patience. She was calm despite her rapidly growing desire. There was no dominance in the touch, but a sureness that made Lara shiver pleasantly, even more so as Donna pulled the dress the rest of the way off, letting it fall to the floor. Before Lara could turn, she felt Donna lifting her hands to her breasts and cupping them.

She moaned as her nipples hardened almost to the point of discomfort. And she waited, shivering as she felt Donna's fingers on her sensitive skin. The tall woman's fingers itched to undress the brunette, to pull her into bed, but the moment was simply too delicious to waste. She felt Donna pressing into her back as she rolled her nipples between her fingertips.

"You feel so good." Donna wished she was already naked, but she did not want to pull away for long enough to make that happen. She kissed across Lara's shoulders and slid her hands down her stomach and sides until she got to the top of her stockings.

A shuddering breath betrayed Lara's calm, and she felt her skin prickle where Donna's fingers caressed. She was already wet and more than ready, but she stood on lightly shaking legs to let the brunette continue.

"You're shaking. Maybe you should lie down." Donna didn't remove her arms though. She kept kissing Lara's back and playing with the tops of her stockings. Finally, she let Lara go.

Lara appreciated the game, the anticipation, and knew the rules well. She stepped out of the fabric now at her feet and crossed the room to the bed. She flicked a strand of hair over her shoulder with a glance at the brunette and slipped her shoes off as she crawled onto the bed and lay on her side facing the older woman, leaning on an elbow, watching.

Donna unzipped her own dress and quickly pulled it off, not wanting to linger. Lara's skin was just too tempting to resist. She crawled on top of her and started running her hands over her legs, slowly rolling her stockings down one leg at a time. Her eyes darkened even further with arousal, and Lara lightly lifted each long leg as Donna slipped the stockings off. She smiled as the brunette finished and finally reached for her, pulling her down into a lingering kiss.

Braced above her, Donna slid one of her thighs between Lara's and pressed down. Lara responded immediately, aware that Donna would be able to feel how wet she had become through the silk of her panties. Her breath caught, and she smiled up. "Please...I want you.. "

Donna moaned. The wetness against her thigh only made her press down harder. "I want you too." She kissed Lara again and rested on top of her.

"Then it's agreed, I think we can both have what we want." To illustrate her point, Lara reached and unfastened Donna's bra, pulling it off as she kissed the brunette again.

Chuckling, Donna rolled off of Lara, reaching for her panties. It only took her a second to pull them off and start touching the brunette. "Yes, I think so."

Lara smiled and knew her color was rising again. She shifted, letting Donna continue. As much as she wanted to press into the touch, she had not lost the ability to make herself wait, to let the tension build. Donna pressed her to Lara's clit. If she had known that it was going to feel so good, she wouldn't have been able to stop herself when they had first met. "How do you feel so good?" She pushed her fingers into Lara and kissed her neck.

Finally letting the moment overwhelm her, Lara moaned and pressed down onto Donna's fingers, letting the other woman fill her. Her hands went to the brunette's hair, twisting fistfuls lightly, "Mmmmnn...I don't know, but I'm glad you think so."

"I do." Donna kissed her again, thrusting her fingers as she rubbed Lara's clit. She wanted to taste her, but the thought of moving away from her lips was too much to bear, so she stayed where she was, having to content herself with just touching. And Lara wasn't letting Donna go as she held their lips together, breathing harder as she started to shake.

"That's it," Donna encouraged, still touching Lara, still pressing close. "I want to feel you come. Let me feel you."

"Yes...." Lara's voice caught, and she happily acquiesced to the brunette's request, arching her back off the bed.

Donna was breathing heavily as Lara finished, her hands never really coming to a stop. She pulled them away only to press them back into Lara's stomach and sides, pulling her close and kissing her. "That was...mmm."

Lara smiled as she came back to herself, "It was." She caught Donna's wrists and kissed each of her fingers, still smirking between kisses. She released them only to reverse their positions, going immediately to kiss down the other woman's neck and over her chest.

"Oh," Donna was surprised by the change in position but not displeased. She wrapped her fingers in Lara's hair, encouraging her to continue as her breathing picked up again. There was something incredibly appealing about not have to tell someone what to do and she planned on thoroughly enjoying it, just as she was sure she would enjoy the opposite on another occasion.

Lara smiled again and nipped at Donna's skin, enjoying the feel of the older woman's pulse increasing under her touch. She quietly hooked her fingers under the brunette's panties and dragged them down, smirking up at the other woman. "You feel quite good as well."

"Unh, thank you." Donna squirmed, trying to help Lara pull her panties off, then wrapped her legs around Lara's waist, using them to pull her closer. She was impatient and arched up against Lara, trying to spur her on. Lara was nearly chuckling as she slipped lower between Donna's legs. The other woman's obvious desire was making a delightful contrast to her usually collected nature.

"Stop laughing and do something." Donna squirmed, trying to get Lara to go faster, to do something more definitive.

Lara raised an eyebrow even as she settled between Donna's legs and kissed the inside of her thighs, "somehow I didn't figure you for the impatient type." Still, she didn't want to make the other woman wait any longer and leaned in to start licking her clit.

And Donna shuddered as Lara's tongue touched her. She tilted her hips toward Lara and spread her legs further apart. "Yes... yes." She tangled her fingers into Lara's hair.

Lara continued, closing her eyes and listening to Donna as she slid her fingers up the back of the brunette's leg from her knee, and pressed them into the other woman.

Donna tightened her muscles around Lara's fingers and kept pushing down against her. She was so close that it would take almost nothing to push her over and as Lara curled her fingers, it was enough. Her breath caught in her throat as she tried not to pull Lara's hair. The tug on her hair and Donna's shuddering breath made Lara feel like she would come again and she kept touching the brunette until she quieted, then kissed the woman's still flushed skin as she slid back up her body to lie at her side.

Neither spoke for a long moment until Lara let herself laugh lightly. "You're a bit of a pleasant surprise," Lara didn't wait to make Donna ask for an explanation, the evening had been too enticing, "I'm glad you don't always practice what you teach so well." She was sure Donna could manage that as well, and the thought made her smile as she pressed closer, kissing Donna's neck.

"Mmm, well, everyone needs a night off every once and a while." Donna pressed back into Lara, turning her face into her. "If you get the light, I'll get the blankets." She was glad that she didn't have to go to work the next day.

Lara nodded and slipped out of bed, as she returned, she was smiling, "I think I'm looking forward to that second date already." And she was, and she already had it planned.

[ ](http://www.statcounter.com/free_hit_counter.html)


	2. Drawn

The house was exactly as Liz had pictured it from Donna's descriptions. She smiled to herself as she turned into the drive and parked. Even from the outside, all of this was absolutely tempting. But she couldn't imagine calling anything other than her brownstone, the city, home. After getting her bag out of the trunk, she went to the door, smiling still. New York would always be home, but it was good to get away sometimes.

Donna had heard the car turning into her drive and went to open the front door, meeting Liz just as she reached the step. "Hey. I'm glad you found it. Come in." She reached out for Liz's bag. "Let me take that."

"This place..." Liz shook her head and laughed lightly as she offered Donna a light hug. "I can see why you wanted to get back here. Thank you for having me."

"Of course, and thank you." Donna closed the door behind Liz. "I'm glad you could get away." She put Liz's bag down by the staircase to be taken up to her room later. "I can't figure out why it took me so long to come back."

"But you're happy now, no doubt." Liz slipped her light jacket off and put it over the back of the sofa as she walked through the house to the open door to the patio. She could smell the sand, the ocean, and she closed her eyes at the door to take it all in.

"Incredibly. It's almost disgusting." Donna came up behind Liz and squeezed her shoulder, encouraging her to step out onto the patio. "We're expecting nothing but sunshine for the next week. Plenty of time to enjoy the beach."

The air was pleasant, fresh, and Liz took it in as she stepped out and took a seat. "This view is incredible." She could imagine it in the evening or in the morning just at dawn, breakfast on the table in front of her. It would be a shame not to share this with someone. "Are you going to tell me more about her? You've been rather coy over the phone."

"Lara?" Donna pulled a chair out and sat down, inviting Liz to do the same. "What would you like to know?"

"I heard about what happened that night at the club." Liz shook her head as she recalled Alex talking about it sometime afterwards. "It seems...surprising that you would end up with someone like that."

Donna shook her head. "I wouldn't have. But she had some things to get over and now that she has, she's a different person."

Liz merely nodded. If Donna trusted that, she wouldn't question it. The other woman's judgment was just as good as her own. "So, you're settled, then?"

"So it seems. At least until Lara decides that we simply have to go to Athens or Sydney or Mumbai or wherever." Donna waved her hand in a vague manner and put her feet up.

Lara smiled as she stepped out onto the patio, still in her heels and flowing but tastefully tailored clothes from her workday at the museum. "I would hate to think Donna has 'settled'." Her tone was teasing and she kissed the brunette on each cheek before turning to Liz and extending her hand, "And you must be Liz. It's good to finally meet you."

"You as well." Liz stood as she took Lara's hand and shook it firmly. The other woman was certainly young, but she could hardly comment on that. Donna's taste, as always, was flawless. "I hear you've got an eye for art. I'm dying to see the collection you two have put together almost as much as I'm dying to see the rest of the house."

"I do enjoy it, yes." Lara smiled and started pulling her hair down from the twist she wore it in during the day, "I'd love to show you what I've managed to get Donna to agree on." She winked at the older brunette. In truth, Donna took little convincing.

A small, content smile graced Donna's lips as she reached up and behind herself for Lara, blindly placing a hand on her hip. "It's hardly my fault if your taste is a bit more... abstract than mine."

It was good to see Donna so content. And Liz had to admit that Lara hardly seemed the person Alex had described. But she believed in second chances and third and possibly fourth. But that was an optimism she usually kept to herself. "A tour, then? And perhaps a drink."

"Of course." Lara turned and slid the patio doors open again, "You mean Donna hasn't offered you a drink yet?" She glared playfully over at the other brunette, the expression only a shadow of her old demeanor. "We'll have to remedy that." Lara stepped inside and let the other women follow.

Donna simply shook her head at Lara's glare as she stood. "Liz knows that she can help herself." She let Liz go into the house before her. "You start the tour and I'll get the drinks." Lara knew more about the art than she did and she was sure that Liz would appreciate that.

Already, Liz was taking the house in more than when she had first entered. She could find traces of Donna in the casual elegance, and the rest, she guessed, was what Lara had brought into it. "It really is quite a place..."

"Thank you. Selfishly, I'm glad Donna didn't let it go when she moved, I love it as much as she does I think." Lara led Liz part way down the hall to the living room and paused to gesture at a series of prints on the wall. "These are new, by an artist in Seoul." She stepped back, "They can be viewed in any sequence, and tell a different story each time." The story was vague, and everyone saw something different, but that was exactly what Lara loved about it, the interpretation. She was still trying to get Donna to appreciate it fully, but her legal mind was looking too hard for an answer in the colors and shapes.

Liz tilted her head slightly as she admired them. If there was a story, she was sure Jonas or Brett would find it immediately. But her flight had been long, and she wasn't seeing much beyond the colors blending together. Her eyes wandered to something a bit more concrete and the walked over to it. "This sketch..." She looked more closely at the signature and raised her eyebrows.

Just as Liz was turning her attention to the sketch, Donna came into the room. She smiled at Lara as she took one of the drinks from her and handed the other to Liz.

Lara smiled back. The sketch didn't match most of what she had on their walls at the moment, but for her it represented a bit of a turning point, and Donna just seemed to like it. That it was quite obviously herself portrayed didn't matter to her in the slightest. She followed and stopped by Liz, answering the half-question, "A friend I met in my travels did that; Donna had it framed when we moved here."

"My daughter," Liz said wryly before taking a long sip of her drink. She could only imagine just where Brett had been when she drew the nude. And she didn't want to imagine much beyond what had happened before or after.

"Your daughter?" Lara didn't quite understand the comment.

"The artist," Liz replied, nodding to the sketch and looked back to both Lara and Donna. It wasn't something Donna would have known, and Liz wasn't sure Lara would have gone into any detail about when and why the sketch was done. She was sure enough that Brett had probably done it in her own hotel room.

Lara blushed deeply when she comprehended what the other woman was saying, the memories of that week still vivid for her, "Oh...I...."

Donna chuckled. "It's a small world, it seems."

"Indeed." Liz didn't need to turn back to the sketch. She had seen quite a few similar to it in Brett's books, and she had been more than content not knowing any of the women they showed.

Lara's blush was still increasing, and she decided that the drink Donna had given her was more necessary than she realized. "She's quite talented." As soon as she said it, the brunette mentally cringed, "Her work I mean. It's very good." It wasn't helping, and Lara decided to cut her losses, "Excuse me for a moment?" At the least Lara felt the need to take off her heels. She hurried away and up the stairs.

Watching her go, Liz shook her head before simply finishing her drink. "I'm sorry." She smiled and took a seat on one of the sofas. "Brett is...well, I suppose she came by some of it honestly. I hope I haven't upset Lara."

Donna was trying very hard not to laugh outright. She simply shook her head. "No. I think she'll be fine, though maybe we won't tell her that Therese is Brett's Godmother." Donna sat on a second sofa, waiting for Lara to come back down where she could lean against her. She rubbed the sides of her face, trying to make the redness from her contained laughter go away.

"That might be for the best," Liz replied, smiling. Brett was quite settled, and she was sure Lara would be happy to hear that. But she decided that they might simply put the subject to rest and enjoy the rest of the weekend. She didn't want to think about it any more than Lara did.


	3. Refuge

"Why are you just sitting there?" Myra's playful voice seemed to appear out of nowhere behind her, and Lara jumped visibly before smiling in spite of the obvious answer.

 

"Because I'm in school, and have things to get done." It was amazing how the energetic brunette never quite seemed to need to study as hard as Lara did. Perhaps being a dance major had its benefits, but Lara had come to believe the woman a bit of a savant. She pushed a few stray black curls behind her ear and watched with amusement as Myra hopped lightly onto the corner of her desk, sitting on a few books and papers.

"But it's the warmest day of the month; why are you inside?" Myra picked up a draft of Lara's paper and pretended to read it, keeping an eye on the darker girl the whole time.

"Are you joking? It's pouring rain." Lara would have liked to be more shocked, but what she found so delicious about Myra was how she always kept her guessing. She was a free spirit, while secretly being one of the most sane people Lara thought she'd ever meet. She just had a way of making intrigue out of monotony, and sense out of chaos. As if to illustrate Lara's point, thunder rumbled outside, and the rain poured harder.

Myra pulled her hair back into a short ponytail and rolled her eyes, "It's still the warmest day yet, come on!" She jumped off the desk and swooped down to kiss Lara's neck, nipping at her playfully. Lara squealed in surprise and twisted away, though she should have expected the action. At once she knew how this would end, Lara couldn't say no to Myra when she was in this mood, there was just too much promise in it.

Lara stood and reached for Myra, who slipped a pace away, "No...not here, come on!"

 

She sighed, though her color was rising, "At least tell me where we're going in the rain?"

"Soon" Myra winked, and tugged Lara out the door.

They were down the stairs of the ivy-covered dorm and out into the rain when Myra started running, her sneakers splashing through puddles on the sidewalk. The campus was nearly deserted, students and staff alike waiting the rain out indoors. "Myra, wait, where...?" Lara didn't get an answer to her half-asked question but followed after as best she could. The rain was falling in sheets, and poured as if from faucets from the broad leaves of maples and oaks as they streaked in tandem across the campus. Lara's shirt was quickly sodden and clinging to her, and her shoes were soaked through and heavy. Still, she tried to follow, though Myra was surprisingly quick.

Soon, Lara found herself laughing at the sheer insanity of the moment as she finally caught up to Myra, her longer legs finally giving her the advantage. She reached to catch the girl by the back of the shirt, but her fingers only touched air as Myra ducked sharply through the arched gate of the school's botanical garden.

"Hey!" Lara was breathing more heavily as she skidded to a stop and turned to follow. She paused, Myra's footfalls were close, but the sound of the rain splashing over leaves and on the ground made sounds echo. Rows of plants, some still flowering from the late spring, obscured her view and Lara started down a row, a thick crawling vine trained around wires to her left, and a shrubbery to her right, of which the leaves seemed to grow in myriad hues of their own accord.

She started jogging again, making the colors of the plants blend in her vision, "Myra?" She received no answer save a light laugh someplace ahead, and saw a flash of movement. Immediately she followed it, jumping through the plants to try and catch the quick moving shadow. The sound of water was louder now, and something else was adding to the summer storm, making the pitch change and grow.

Like reaching the center of a labyrinth, Lara suddenly found herself in the open, stepping into a small grassy courtyard as the rows of flowers and plants gave way. She let her mouth hang open when she sighted Myra, almost immediately, naked and standing on the edge of a marble fountain. Water was pouring down terraces behind her, increased by the rain, and splashing into the deep basin below.

"What are you...what do you think you're doing?" Lara was automatically stepping closer, watching curiously as Myra turned to walk along the edge. The lithe brunette placed her bare feet carefully, one in front of the other, like any practiced dancer memorizing a movement.

After a few moments the Myra turned to smile at Lara. "Just following tradition." She placed her hands almost innocently behind her back. "Join me?"

Lara's steps had brought her close enough, and she reached up to slide her fingers over Myra's bare sides. She shook her head. "What tradition is this?"

Myra rolled her eyes and grabbed Lara's soaked shirt, pulling it off over the other woman's head. "The summer rainstorm tradition of course," She leaned down and kissed the confused look off of the darker woman's features.

"What summer rainstorm tradition?" Lara raised an eyebrow at the still smiling young woman in front of her as she was pulled up beside her.

Myra rolled her eyes again, then let a grin cross her features. "The one we're about to start." Lara's mouth opened to speak, but only a surprised yell came out as she was pulled down and they splashed into the fountain below. Myra surfaced a moment later from the waist-deep water, laughing delightedly.

Before Lara could react further, Myra leaped at her, plunging them both under the swirling water. The world disappeared, and she felt the brunette's lips on hers and the other woman's fingers deftly unfastening her jeans and working them off.

By the time they surfaced, Lara was laughing, and piece by piece, she watched her remaining clothing float to the surface of the water until there was nothing left. She pulled Myra to her again and tugged her hair loose around delicate shoulders. "Is this still part of the tradition?"

Myra just smiled and drew Lara to her, laying back until they were both submerged again, twisting their bodies together as they kissed. When Lara felt like she couldn't last any longer, she splashed back into the world. Her gasp for breath was strangled with surprise as she felt Myra's fingers between her legs. The rain was still pouring down, until it seemed there was as much water above as below them. The next moments found them both pressing, touching each other, neither caring for the instant about the rest of the day...the rest of life.

 

*****

A shadow fell over her eyes, and Myra's laughter faded. Lara stirred awake to the sound of a rare rainstorm outside, falling through the gutters and splashing into the Pacific. She started and rolled over to see Donna still sleeping next to her. Lara shuddered quietly and brushed away a few tears, pressing closer to the older woman, who slipped a comforting arm around her out of instinct.

Donna woke from the other woman's restlessness and whispered, still half asleep, "Mmm...Lara....are you alright?"

Lara paused, then just shifted closer into Donna's arms, "Yes, I am now."


End file.
